White Wishes
by Kazane Hime
Summary: 'What is my purpose? Why am I here' That is what Lata Aurelia wants to know. She is an amnesiac that appeared on Ephinea at the age of 13. Now, she has a feeling that something bad is going to happen to Orlen, the village that took her in 7 years ago. How can she discover her purpose in this world when she can't protect those closest to her? Self Insert. AsbelxCheria, HubertxPascal
1. Ivy Sprout

Summary: Self Insert. Everyone had a purpose in life; for some, it takes their entire life before they find out what it is but for others, they know it the moment they appear in the world. _What is my purpose? Why am I here?_ That is what Lata Aurelia wants to know. She is an amnesiac that appeared on Ephinea at the age of 13. Now, she has a feeling that something bad is going to happen to Orlen, the village that took her in 7 years ago. How can she discover her purpose in this world when she can't protect those closest to her?

**And yet another new story :3 I wanted to do a Graces fanfic and I had gotten this idea when I got to the Orlen woods in my second play through. :3 Anywho, Read, Enjoy and Review :3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Graces F**

* * *

**7 years ago**

I don't know how I ended up here but I do know that I wouldn't be leaving here for a long time; where ever _here_ was.

Row upon row of some green-leafed plant stretched out in front of me. For some reason, it seemed familiar. The small indent of the forest where I sat leaning against a tree was across the road from the field. My head throbbed slightly as I tried to figure out why this area seemed familiar when I knew I had never been here before.

Groaning slightly, I put my right hand up to my temple, reveling in the familiar coldness. It was strange, though I wasn't sure what was strange about it. Something was gone in my mind, something that was important… I did things by habit though I never remembered…. _That's_ what it was! I didn't have any memories! They were simply gone, _poof_, vanished.

I let my hand move to lie across my forehead, not minding that it was warm. If you almost always have "frozen" hands, things have a tendency to feel warm to the touch… A smile tugged at my lips. For some reason – habit perhaps – I felt like pointing out to the world that, "no, my hands aren't cold; they're frozen!" It just felt like a natural thought to go along with noticing the difference in temperature between the different parts of my body.

After a few moments, my hand and my forehead had become the same temperature and I removed my hand to look up at my surroundings. There wasn't much worth mention other than the forest behind me and the field in front of me. Not to say the area was bleak, it was a very nice shade of green, but it just seemed usual to me, like I was used to being around a lot of green.

Off in the distance, I could hear the sounds of a fight, though it didn't sound very vicious, followed by the sound of a young boy boasting about his strength. With how loud that kid's voice was, I wasn't surprised when the sounds of another fight followed a few minutes later. I smiled. Kids would be kids. They always loved adventure and danger, didn't they?

I closed my eyes for a few seconds, trying to repress the headache that was demanding more attention. After those few seconds, I decided the headache would have to just deal until I could get to a safer place. I opened my eyes and carefully stood up, leaning against the supporting trunk of the tree behind me to ease the weight on my unsteady legs.

"Miss, are you alright?" A voice came from the right. I looked over and saw a person in armor with a strange mask covering part of his face. My mind automatically placed him as a 'Knight'.

"Mizz?" Another voice came from behind the knight. The owner of the voice was wearing a strange orange outfit with a brown turtle shell on his back. Behind him, a huge turtle-like creature with a caravan-like saddle on its back lumbered up.

"I – I think so…" I said, my voice coming out sort of cracked, like it hadn't been used for a while. Luckily, I was saved from having to talk more as the turtle-shell guy started explaining.

"I foundz ya just layingz there," he said. "Half scared mez out of my witz, ya didz."

I attempted to give an apologetic smile but my head throbbed yet again and I had to lean against the tree more. The pulsating seemed to get worse with every breath I took and my stomach also started to hurt as the pain in my head escalated. As my vision began to go hazy, I was partially aware of the knight and the turtle-guy asking again if I was okay. Then, my vision faded all together, throwing me back into the darkness I had woken up from not long ago.

* * *

After the initial black out, I drifted in and out of consciousness. The first time the world came into view again, I saw a tent-like covering above me that rocked back and forth in time with the rocking of the ground. I wondered for a split second why the ground was moving before the world faded around me again.

The second time, I awoke to see many, many trees and brick buildings passing by. It seemed I was being carried but that was all that registered before I drifted off yet again.

I can't say how many times I awoke only to fall back into unconsciousness a few seconds later, but when I was able to stay awake, I found myself on a bed with a wet cloth on my head. The ceiling above me was made out of simple wooden planks that I studied for a bit as the area around me registered as the real world. A floor board creaking drew my attention away from the ceiling as someone crossed the floor.

"She's awake!" A young girl's voice exclaimed. I tried to move my head so I could see who it was that was talking but my head protested the movement with a throb. A second later, I noticed the movement was unneeded as the girl's face appeared above me. Long, dark brown hair fell down to tickle my face as golden brown eyes peered down at me. The light contact of the hair started to make my face itch and it twitched in an attempt to remove the annoyance.

"Ah," the girl said as she moved back, looking slightly guilty. "Sorry about that, I just got so excited. Can you sit up?"

I shook my head slightly, trying not to agitate it too much. With my response, she moved forward again, carefully to keep her hair out of my face this time, and reached below my back. "Okay, let me prop you up then, 'kay?" She said softly before lifting my upper body up into a slightly sitting position and moved the pillows so they supported me when she moved away, taking the cloth that had been on my forehead along with her.

"Thanks," I said as I finally got a good look at her. She was wearing a simple white blouse and a medium length skirt with light weight pants underneath. Her honey-colored eyes showed every thought and emotion as I looked on.

"Oh," she said suddenly, her eyes shifting to look slightly surprised and slightly guilty. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Elfleda Aurelia, nice to meet you."

Her smile seemed to be contagious as I felt the edges of my own lips pulling back in a smile. "Nice to meet you, Elfleda," I replied, feeling my eyes soften into a smile.

"What's your name?" She asked, curiosity swimming in her eyes.

"Name?" I blinked in surprise at the word. "I don't remember..." I said after a moment of thought. My head had started to throb again with the moving around and it happily accepted the cold comfort of my hand as I brought it up against my temple yet again.

"That's not good," she said as sadness flickered across her eyes. "Do you remember anything? What about where you came from or anything like that?"

"No," I said after a second of thought. I would have shaken my head but I didn't want to risk making my current headache getting worse or anything so I simply shifted my hand to lay across my forehead in place of the cloth Elfleda had removed a few seconds ago.

"Aww," Elfleda said, disappointed, before noticing my hand on my forehead. "Oh, sorry. I'll be right back with another cloth, 'kay?"

"'Kay," I replied. The girl helped me lay back down on the bed before rushing out of the room and down the stairs. Her footsteps faded yet another heavier set took their place as someone else ascended the stairs and entered the room I was in.

"I see you've met Elfleda," the masculine voice said. The footsteps settled as the man took a seat beside my bed. My head's throbbing had calmed down so I was able to look over to see the man who was talking. I nodded in response to his statement before studying him. He was a large man but had a kind look to him that seemed somehow familiar. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes that seemed to be bluish in the light of the room. His face was weathered, making it obvious that he was used to hard work. He wore a long-sleeved gray shirt that seemed faded along with a pair of simple black pants and worn brown boots. "You sure gave everyone a scare when the Turtlez and a knight appeared with a mystery girl."

"Sorry," I said quietly.

The man smiled, making his face light up with a gentle glow. "It's fine," he said. "We don't get a lot of news around here anyways, being in the middle of monster-infested woods and all."

"Monsters?" I asked quietly. "Where am I?"

"We're in Orlen," he explained. "I'm Dacre Aurelia by the way. Elfleda is my daughter and it was my wife, Lorraine, who offered to take you in while you recovered."

"Orlen..." I tested the word on my tongue. It seemed familiar somehow but I couldn't remember how.

"Where do you come from anyways, miss?" Mr. Aurelia asked.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "I... I don't remember anything, Mr. Aurelia."

Mr. Aurelia nodded. "Must be amnesia then. You get hit in the head or poisoned or something?" He asked.

I shook my head softly. "I don't think so," I replied.

"Well," Mr. Aurelia said, getting up just as Elfleda's footsteps started up the stairs. "I'm sure Lorraine and Elfleda will want to take you in if you don't remember anything in a few days' time. I have work to get back to but they'll be here to take care of you." He held out his hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, miss."

I smiled, propped myself up on one arm and shook his hand with my other hand. "Same here, Mr. Aurelia." He smiled back before leaving just before Elfleda came back into the room.

"Did Dad try to scare you away?" She asked lightly as she walked over.

"No," I said with a smile. "He was pretty nice."

"That's good," Elfleda said with a smile before a joking look came over her eyes. "Apparently he scares little kids a lot."

I laughed slightly as Elfleda put the wet cloth on my forehead. My head started throbbing again and I closed my eyes to lessen the strain on it.

"You should get some rest," the golden-eyed girl said, patting my forehead and I opened my eyes. "Sleep well." I looked after her for a bit before allowing my eyes to close again and letting the world of darkness swallow me yet again.

* * *

The next time I woke, the curtains were pulled over the window on my right, only allowing a bit of light into the room. The door was closed and the cloth on my head was dry, apparently not having been replaced for some time. I sat up carefully in the bed, noticing that instead of throbbing, my head was very clear. Even though I didn't know how long I had been asleep, I knew that I needed to get out and go somewhere.

As I slipped the covers off of me and sat on the edge of the bed, I noticed there was a set of clothes laid on top of the dresser over by the window along with a hair brush. I got up and walked over to the dresser, looking at my reflection in the mirror that was set on top of the dresser. A slim girl with tangled blonde hair peered back at me with ivy green eyes. When I smiled at the mirror, the reflection smiled back at me.

With a sigh, I picked up the brush that had been provided and started to comb the tangles out of my hair. For how tangled my hair looked, it brushed out pretty well, only taking a few minutes to get it smooth, well, smoother. I put the brush back onto the dresser and picked up the shirt they had provided.

Holding it in front of me, I noticed it was a simple blouse like the one that Elfleda had been wearing when I first woke up in the Aurelias' house. With a half smile, I put the shirt on the dresser again and changed into it and the simple grey pants that were also there. There were a few clips arranged on the dresser in case I wanted to use them to put my hair back but I left them; it wasn't like my hair would be falling into my face too often given the length of it.

As I finished getting dressed, I took a look at the girl in the mirror again. The blonde hair sort of blended in with the pale skin but the green eyes contrasted with both, making them stand out more. I got the feeling that it was supposed to be a strange sight but I didn't give the feeling much thought before putting on a pair of boots I had been wearing earlier.

Carefully, I opened the door to the room I was in and walked out. No one seemed to be around as I walked over to the stairs and started down them. I was proven wrong as a woman with honey-colored hair and eyes stepped into view.

"You're up!" She exclaimed, picking up her long skirt to trot up the stairs to where I had stopped. "Shouldn't you be resting, miss?"

"I feel fine now but thank you," I said as I felt a smile plastered itself over my face.

"You sure?" The woman asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine Ms… uh…"

"Lorraine," The woman supplied. "Lorraine Aurelia."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Aurelia," I said.

"Just Lorraine is fine," Mrs. Aureli- uh, Lorraine said.

"Okay," I smiled. "I was thinking of going out for a bit to look around."

"Be careful out there and don't wander too far. I'll send Elfleda out when she wakes up."

"Thanks," I said with a smile before continuing down the stairs. As I reached the door leading outside, I hesitated for a second before opening it. The village was almost silent in the dove-grey light of pre-dawn but a few early risers where up and about, collecting what looked like… lumber equipment.

What was originally surprise faded as I saw all of the trees around. With this many trees around the village, of course they would have a booming lumber business. There was a track leading deeper into the forest where the workers would probably go to start their work for the day, leaving the trees around the houses as they were.

As I looked around, I noticed a tree at the edge of village with a branch within reaching distance. It was weird, but I had the sudden urge to climb up into the branches of the tree, feel the wind blowing through my hair and see all of Orlen at once. Giving in to the urge, I walked over to the tree and reached up to grab the lowest branch. The bark was rough against the skin of my hand, giving me a good grip. After grabbing on with my other hand, I leaped up, pushing my feet against the tree's trunk to get my legs up onto the branch as well. With both my hands on the branch and my knees hooked onto the branch, I pulled myself up until I was sitting on the branch.

A light wind blew through my loose hair as I stood up on the branch, using the branches above me for support. I took a moment to enjoy the wind before grabbing onto a branch above the one I wanted to go to and climbed up. One branch after another, I continued up the tree in the same fashion. When a branch was too far to step to, I would use a branch above it to swing over.

Eventually, I reached the highest stable branch and looked down at the village. The majority of the houses were simple two story brick houses with a single door out the front and a window on each side of it. More people were moving around the town since the sun had come over the horizon and it was starting to bustle with activity.

I spotted a stick leaning against the side of one of the houses. The stick seemed like a spear but it didn't have any sharp ends that I could see so it was probably a staff instead of a spear. Still, the strange bulge at the end of the staff made me curious.

As I watched, I spotted a figure with long dark brown hair come out of the Aurelia's house and look around. It occurred to me that it was Elfleda looking for me; her mother, uh Lorraine (I would need to get used to calling her that) had said that she would send Elfleda out when she woke up.

I climbed down the tree gracefully, finally coming to the lowest branch again. My movement had caught Elfleda's eye and she was waiting for me when I dropped down to the ground.

"Wow," she exclaimed as she reached over to remove pieces of bark and twigs from my hair. "You're a really good climber!"

I shrugged. "I just felt like climbing… I guess I've done it a lot before."

"It was still amazing," Elfleda pointed out. "You looked like you were part of the tree, like…" She searched for a word to describe what she was thinking. Suddenly, her eyes seemed to spot something in the trees behind me and she finished the sentence. "Like ivy!"

"Ivy?" I asked in surprise.

"It's a separate plant but when it grows up the tree, it looks like its part of the tree!"

I nodded though it barely made sense to me. Looking behind Elfleda, I spotted the strange staff thing yet again.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing it out. She turned around to figure out what I was talking about.

""Oh, that?" She said as she spotted my object of interest. "That's a Brandistock. We call it that because Brandi was the one to create it and she is the only one around here who can use it."

"Isn't it just a regular staff?" I asked. It shouldn't be that hard to learn how to use a staff so why could only this Brandy person use it?

"It's actually really cool," Elfleda pointed out. "When you press a button on the staff, a spearhead comes out of the tip, making it a spear."

I blinked in amazement. I had been right and wrong at the same time; it was a spear as well as a staff.

"That _is_ really cool," I admitted. Something seemed to be calling me over to the Brandistock; it was like the weapon itself wanted me to wield it. After a second's thought, I asked the question that had been bubbling up in my mind: "Do you think Brandi would be interested in teaching me how to use it?"

Elfleda looked at me in surprise, her eyes sparkling with hope. "You're going to stay? And I'm sure she would love to; she's been trying to get a student for the longest time."

"I don't know of any other place I could stay," I pointed out. "Plus, I like this place; all of the trees seem familiar somehow."

Her eyes went from sparkling with hope to glittering with happiness. "That's great! Mom was just suggesting that we adopt you, since you don't have anywhere to go without your memory. We'll be sisters!" She thought for a little bit before continuing. "How old are you anyways? I'm 14."

"13," I said with a smile as she grabbed both of my hands in her excitement. '_Sister,_' I thought. The word had a nostalgic feeling that came with it as it went through my mind.

"You'll be my younger sister then," Elfleda smiled, removing her hands as she thought for a bit. "You'll need a name though."

I nodded in agreement though no name ideas came to my head as I watched her think.

"Lata!"

"What?"

"Lata will be your name!"

"Lata," I tried it out the word. "I like it… Lata…"

"It means ivy or creeping plant so it fits," Elfleda pointed out with a smile, pressing her hands together near her chest. "From now on, you'll be Lata Aurelia, 'kay?"

I nodded. "Lata Aurelia," I repeated the full name, enjoying the feel of it on my tongue.

"Let's go see mom and dad then, Lata," she said excitedly, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the house.

"Yeah, Let's," I said as I grabbed her hand as well and followed her back into my new home.

* * *

**Longest Chapter yet! Haha :3 Anywho, sorry if the ending seemed kind of rushed. I got up to the point I wanted to get to and wanted to finish the chapter as soon as possible afterwards. Hope you Enjoyed it and please, please, please review. :3 If you have any questions, I would love to answer them so you can put them in a review *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* or you can messege them to me. I'll try to answer as soon as possible! Thanks for reading! :3**

**- Kazane Hime**


	2. Down in Flames

**I'm back! Time to get to how Lata is after the 7 year break in the game and to show a bit more about how I think the attack on Orlen happened. Please Read, Enjoy, and Review :3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Graces F; they did a good job on pairings even without me :3 All I own are my OCs :3**

* * *

7 years later

_It was dark, so unbelievably dark. The friendly stars hadn't come out from behind the thick blanket of clouds and this night was the one night in the month when the light of the moon was absent. Eyes were almost useless in the darkness that surrounded the small village but I walked towards the trees confidently. I only stumbled when my foot came into contact with an unexpected object on the ground._

_As the object came into a fuzzy black and white focus, I could feel the bile burning in my heart. In that moment, an orangish-yellow light exploded in the background. I whipped around to see the source only to find the entire ground littered with things very similar to what I had just recognized had tripped over._

_The light from the fires glowed off of the bodies on the ground, filling the area with a gruesome light. A strangled sound came from my mouth as my eyes landed on three bloodied figures off to the side. Shakily, my hands went up to my face and covered my eyes as I fell to my knees and let out a piercing scream._

* * *

Warm light greeted me as my eyes flew open. The familiar wooden ceiling was above me as it usually was; I wasn't outside, it wasn't dark, and I wasn't the only one left. For a few minutes, I simply lay there in my bed, trying to slow my frantic heartbeat. This wasn't the first time I had woken from a nightmare like this, something that either held ill omens or showed a past I didn't remember.

Sliding out from under the covers, I noticed that a cold sweat that covered my skin from the nightmare. With a sigh, I headed to the bathroom to wash off. Finally clean, I pulled her hair back in the usual double ponytail, fastening some holders around it to stop it from poofing out, and got dressed before returning to my room.

It was just another day; no burning and no death. There should be no reason for such a nightmare to affect me, but the emotions showed no sign of fading and every detail was still crystal clear. Caught up in my thoughts, I didn't notice the door opening or the hurried footsteps that swept across my room.

"La-ta~!" A sing-song voice came from right next to my ear as arms encircled me, making me jump. "You okay?" The voice asked as the arms let go so the other girl could stand in front of me with a worried look.

"Yeah," I said, forcing a smile onto my face. "You just startled me, El."

"You sure?" The girl asked, still looking worried.

I nodded, studying the two braids resting on the rest of El's hair to avoid meeting her expressive eyes. "I'm sure that I'm fine, okay?"

"That's good," Elfleda smiled, not noticing that I couldn't meet her gaze. "Mom sent me up to get you for breakfast."

"Okay," I said, happy for the distraction. "What's for breakfast?" I asked as we headed down the stairs.

"Rice Porridge," El answered.

"As usual," I said with a smile, walking into the dining room where Lorraine was setting the table. "Good morning Lorraine."

"Morning, sleepyhead," Lorraine said as she looked up from setting the porridge on the table. "You're just in time."

El and I took our seats on each side of the table with a smile. As Lorraine passed me the Rice Porridge, I put some into my bowl and passed the Porridge on to Elfleda. In Orlen, Rice Porridge was a common dish since the rice was easy to get and the tea fields were right outside the woods so we almost always had an ample supply of tea leaves.

"Where's dad?" Elfleda asked after taking a bite. "Did he already head out to work?"

Lorraine nodded. "He ate earlier then headed out. He wanted to finish earlier than usual today since it'll be too dark to work at night."

"Too dark?" I asked, fear bubbling up in my chest. '_Please don't let it be the same… please don't-_'

"It's a new moon tonight," Lorraine confirmed what I had feared. Silently, I set down my spoon and stood up with my bowl only half empty.

"I'm going to go see Brandi," I said, picking up my dishes. "Thanks for the meal, Lorraine."

I quickly put my dishes away and headed out of the house, too absorbed in my thoughts to notice the worried look simmering in Elfleda's eyes. Usually I would wait for her to finish eating before leaving but right now, I needed something to take my mind off of that dream – _vision_ – or whatever it had been.

* * *

I paused slightly before knocking on the door to my teacher's house. A clanking sound came from the other side before the door swung open to welcome me into its mechanical depths. My teacher was nowhere to be found in the jumble of machines that greeted me but I knew where she would be.

A machine-clear path led to a large room towards the back of the house and the air buzzed with the sound of all of the machines around me. There was the usual sound of clanking but there was also a barely audible high pitched buzzing from the machines' power source.

I walked along the path, a click behind me alerting me to the fact that the door had closed itself behind me. My head ached a bit from the unusual yet somehow familiar high pitched whine but, later, that ache was the only indicator that the sound was still there once it faded from my hearing. As I approached the end of the walkway, a mostly machine-free room opened up in from of me.

Stepping out into the room, I saw a familiar vested figure at the end of the room. The figure's red and white hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of her neck and fell to her waist. It swung back and forth as they shook their head in annoyance with the malfunctioning object in front of them.

"Brandi," I called out as I walked over to her. "What are you working on _this_ time?"

The hair wrapped itself around the person's torso as she spun around to face me. Her left hand held the object she had been tinkering with behind her back, out of my sight, while the other came to rest on her hip. "Just another idea I had."

The strict look on Brandi's face stopped any other questions from crossing my lips. "Okay, I guess," I said, shrugging. This wasn't the first time I had caught my mentor working on something she wouldn't show me.

"What is it child?" Brandi asked, her perceptive eyes picking up the start of a worried frown on my face.

'_I'm not a child anymore: I'm 20 years old already,_' I stopped myself from voicing the thought; it wouldn't do anything but make Brandi annoyed with me. "I had a bad dream, that's all."

The Armenian gave me an unbelieving look but let it go. "So? Why are you here?"

"Practice," I started. "I felt like getting some practice in."

Brandi regarded me for a bit before speaking. "Just warm up in here," she said. "Once you're done with that, go out into the woods to fight against the monsters there."

"Yes Ma'am."

* * *

My last opponents in the woods were wolves. Two Wolf Cubs waited behind an older wolf for an opportunity to attack or simply for protection; either one worked for me.

I grabbed my Brandistock from where it was strapped onto my back and held it ready. The Wolf rushed forward, trying to finish this battle in the first strike but was knocked into the air as I swung my staff in an upwards arc.

Another strike sent the Wolf crashing into a tree. The cubs yipped in agitation and leapt forward only to cower back to avoid a sweeping strike. With them far enough away, I began casting the only long-distance spell I knew.

"Flickering blaze, burn: Fireball!" I called out, aiming at the mostly unconscious Wolf. Five Fireballs arched towards my helpless enemy and they each seemed to explode when they came into contact with the Wolf. There was the smell of burning fur and flesh before the monster let out a screech and collapsed, deathly silent and unmoving.

"One down," I said, casting away the thoughts that threatened to invade my mind. "Two to go…" In a single, smooth movement I twirled my staff and planted one end on the ground. A sharpened spear point popped up from the top of the staff and locked into place.

With the spear head out, I spun my weapon again and pointed it towards the two Wolf Pups in a silent challenge. They accepted the challenge with growls and loped towards me. As they got within striking distance, I stabbed the spear head into the ground.

"Volcanic Burst," I called out as ripples of fire erupted from where my spear pierced the ground. Both cubs wailed in fear and pain as the fire consumed them. Once their cried had been silenced, I retracted the spear point and set my Brandistock back onto my back before starting to pick up anything that would be useful. All I could salvage was a bit of charred fur and a chunk of meat.

After carefully wrapping my prizes and putting them away into my bag, I cast a look around to see where I was. There was more light filtering through the trees than usual, suggesting that I was near the edge of the forest. Shouldering my bag, I walked along the well trodden path towards the open tea fields that separated us from the capital, Barona.

Thinking back, I had probably figured that Lorraine was probably running low on tea leaves by then so it would be a good idea to gather some for her. I went to the edge of the tea field and started to gather the outlying leaves, the scent of them smothering all the other scents. After gathering about 25 fresh tea leaves for Lorraine, I turned back towards the forest, only to see a pillar of smoke drifting above the trees. Fire was something that was almost only used for lighting and warmth in Orlen and there was almost never any outbreaks of fire from those alone.

I carefully but quickly stuffed the tea leaves into my bag and put the strap over my shoulder before running off down the path towards the village. Many desperate thoughts ran through my mind during that time but all I can remember was that maybe they were burning the old stumps to make room for new trees to grow, or maybe my nightmares were coming true.

As I got closer to Orlen, I had to slow down because the air was so thick with smoke. Screams rung in the air and tears fell down my face as the smoke stung my eyes. I couldn't let this happen! Desperately, I searched my mind for any water spell I knew but I couldn't remember any and the situation wasn't doing much to help with that. It was then that I saw the creatures, wolf-like things with glowing eyes that pierced right through me. They were attacking the village, killing the villagers, burning everything down with the strange beams they shot from their mouths.

I stared that the scene in shock until one of the creatures turned towards me, its eyes locking onto its new prey. No fire spell was going to save me from this kind of wolf. The instinct to survive took over as I turned and fled back into the forest, weaving in and out of the trees in an attempt to lose the wolf. Where was Elfleda? Where was Lorraine? Where were the foresters? Had the wolves found them first then followed their trails back to the village? A burning hot beam scathed my side, driving all the other thoughts out of my head as I ran for my life, deeper into the forest.

* * *

**Nice cliffy at the end :3 Sorry I haven't updated for so long I got stuck on the fight scene against the first wolves and couldn't think of how to continue it till a few days ago. Hope I didn't make you wait too long :3 Anywho, please review so I can know what you think. Just saying that you like it is perfectly fine and I am totally open to constructive criticism (Not Flames).**

**-Kazane Hime**


	3. Aftermath

**Hello again, everyone! Sorry it's been so long. I've been really, really busy with school. Anywho, here's the next chapter of White Wishes. Please read, enjoy and review.**

* * *

Darkness, similar to that that my dream had foretold, engulfed me as I collapsed on top of a tree arch. I had stumbled through the undergrowth during my flight, adding many developing bruises to the searing wound on my side from the strange wolf. It was the pain from that wound that made me pass out there on that natural bridge, almost to the safety of North Barona Road.

* * *

When I woke up, the sun was high in the sky, shining down on my moss encrusted bed. The dry, prickly pieces tickled the bare skin on my legs, arms, and neck. I tried to turn over onto my side to escape the itchy feeling but the movement ended up just sending waves of pain through my body from the wound in my side.

White spots, like stars in the sky, danced around my vision from the pain. It wasn't the most pleasant of things but it kept me distracted from the hunger and thirst.

I lay there, helpless and waiting for the strange greyish-brown wolves to attack, for hours. Though, I actually lost track of the time it really took before I heard the slightly clanking steps of knights.

"U-up here!" I croaked out. My dry throat made it hard to get the sounds out but I managed to get the knights' attention. From what I could see out of the corner of my eyes without moving was them looking around for the source of the sound.

"There!" One of them called out, pointing up to the tree arch. I sighed then immediately regretted it as the burning in my side rekindled. Desperate to not make the same mistake again, I stopped watching the knights as they made their way up to the arch.

"Are you alright?" One of them asked, kneeling next to my head. Now that they were entirely in my field of vision, I could tell there were only two of them. The other one was digging something out of his supply bag.

"Not... really," I managed. The closer one nodded in understanding and looked at his partner.

"Here," the other knight said, handing over a small bag.

Apple gels, I thought as the knight took one out of the bag and held it close to me.

"Eat this," he said. I opened my mouth and accepted the healing gummy. A feeling of warmth washed through me, much more comfortable than the searing pain I had been feeling earlier. I could feel my wound start to heal as the knights started to talk to each other.

"What should we do, Rick?" The furthest away knight asked as he replaced the apple gels in their supply bag.

"We can't leave her here, but there might be more further in," the other one, Rick, responded, standing back up.

"Elfleda," I said, making both of them look at me. "My sister!"

"It's alright," Rick said to me. "If there are any others, we'll find them."

"O-okay," I said, sitting up. There was only a dull throbbing left where my wound had been.

"Fred," Rick said, looking back at the other knight. "Take her to the Turtlez just outside the forest and have them take her to Barona then meet me at Orlen. The captain is going to be bringing one of his students out on his first field mission."

Fred nodded in agreement. He reached down and helped me to my feet. I stood shakily, my legs weak.

"Come on," he said softly, lending me his armored shoulder for support. I nodded, a lump in my throat as I glanced towards my home, out of view through the trees.

I don't remember exactly how long it took us to reach the edge of the forest, but eventually we finally made it out and past the tea fields to where the Turtlez was with his Turtlez Transport.

"Woah, whatz happened to her?" The Turtlez asked as we reached him.

"We're not sure," Fred said. "But we need to get her back to Barona to be treated."

"Surez," the Turtlez said. "Just getz her in the backz of the Tranzport."

"Thank you." Fred helped me onto the tamed turtle monster's saddle before speaking to me. "You should be brought to the Barona inn where the knights can find someone to treat you."

"Alright," I said. The pain was creeping back into my consciousness. I watched Fred gave the Turtlez gald for the transport and for a night at the inn before he started back towards the woods.

After a few minutes, the Turtlez got on the front of the Transport and started the turtle walking.

"Holdz on tightz," he called back to me as the slow movement began. I nodded, even though he probably couldn't see, and leaned back against the wall of the saddle.

* * *

The sun had moved about a third of the way down the sky by the time we reached Barona's Inn.

"Thank you," I told the Turtlez as he dropped me off and gave me the money Fred had given him for the Inn.

"No Problemz," he said, smiling.

I didn't stay to watch him leave on his turtle; My side was starting to burn again. With a hand clasped over the wound, I made my way into the Inn. I paid for a room and went to it before laying down on the bed, almost totally exhausted.

Flashes of what had happened the night before and in my dream kept playing through my mind until I couldn't tell one from the other. Was Elfleda alive? Brandi? Everyone else? What was that strange power that the wolf-like monster had? Why had they suddenly attacked?

I sighed, pushing the thoughts out of my head. What I needed now was sleep, not pessimistic thoughts. Rolling over on the bed, I closed my eyes and let myself drift off to sleep. Everything would make sense in the morning, or so I hoped.

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**There we go :3 Thanks for reading. The next chapter should be up within the month though I can't give a definite date since I'm still busy. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please, please review :3**


	4. New Day

**Here's the next chapter as promised :3 Cheria, Asbel and Malik make appearances. Please Read, Enjoy and Review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Graces. I only own Lata and her adoptive family.**

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I woke up to a knocking on the door. The sun, as I could tell through the window in my room, was already partially up.

"Come in," I called, starting to sit up.

A girl with dark pink hair came in. As soon as she saw me, she rushed over. "Oh, don't sit up," she said. "You'll hurt yourself more."

I stared at her, confused. Then it finally dawned on me; this was the healer that the knight had mentioned would come. Slowly, noticing the pain reawakening from my sudden jolt, I laid back down.

As soon as I laid back down, the healer placed her hands on my side. I slightly jumped but managed to calm myself back down enough to observe what she was doing. A bright glow shone from her hands, enveloping the wound. Within a minute, it was completely healed.

"That should be good," she said. "Not to pry, but what happened to you?"

I looked away. "Did the knights not tell you?"

She shook her head.

"Well..." I trailed off but it seemed to get the point across.

"Its alright, you don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

"Thanks again," I said.

"Ah, excuse me for being rude," she said. I looked at her, confused for a second. "I'm Cheria Barnes."

"Lata Aurelia," I replied, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Aurelia."

"Just Lata," I told her, my last name reminding me of my worries.

She nodded in agreement. "The knights should be coming later today to ask you about what happened."

"Alright, thanks," I took a glance at the door to see if they were coming yet.

"Well then. I need to get going," she said. "It was nice to meet you, Lata."

"Same," I replied.

She left my inn room and I got up. My reflection in a mirror near the edge of the room caught my attention. Pieces of my blonde hair were sticking up at strange angles and my ponytails were tangled and falling apart. I needed to get washed up quickly.

* * *

By the time I finished washing up, it was about noon. I was on my way out to get something to eat when I accidentally bumped into a guy.

"Sorry," I said, turning to apologize. The guy was a bit taller than me with dark red-brown hair that stuck up a bit in a few places. He had bright blue eyes and looked somehow familiar, though I couldn't exactly place why. I felt my brow furrow in thought, wondering if I had met him before.

"Are you Lata Aurelia?" A deep voice asked, turning my attention to the guy's companion. He was much taller than me and had dirty blond hair and a beard. I couldn't tell the exact color of his eyes from just the glance I got but they seemed to be some sort of brown color.

"Yes," I responded. "That's me."

"We're here from the knights," the tall guy said in the same deep voice from earlier. "We need to ask you a few questions about what happened in Orlen."

"Alright," I said reluctantly. I had been trying to push that matter to the back of my mind since last night but... if they had news on everyone then... My stomach rumbled as if it was annoyed that it had been forgotten.

"Captain," the reddish haired knight said, looking up at his older companion. "Should we talk over food?"

"Yes, great idea Asbel," the Captain nodded, arms crossed.

I went along with the two of them to a bar called Tactics. As we entered, the bartender looked up.

"Ah, Malik! Finally decide to take me up on my offer?" He called out.

"No, I have more to do still," The Captain, Malik, replied. He led us over to a table and offered me a chair.

After we ordered, the knights looked at each other before Asbel spoke.

"So, what do you know about what happened in Orlen?"

I looked at the wall, trying to recall the details of what had happened. It wasn't too hard since it was still fresh in my mind, imprinted there from the shock.

"I- I had gone out into the woods to practice," I started. The words had to be forced out but I could feel myself getting closer and closer to just spilling out everything. "I had had a nightmare the night before and needed something to distract me. I wasn't out there very long but when I came back, the town was in flames and there were these… wolf-like monsters."

"Did you try to fight them?" Asbel asked when I stopped for breath.

I shook my head. "No, I didn't. There was something about them… Something that told me that I wouldn't be able to beat them. Plus, there were too many for me to take on by myself."

"Then?" The Captain said.

"Then I ran. One of the wolves fired a beam or something that scathed my side but I managed to lose them in the woods," I said. Neither of the knights offered any comments.

"Here's your food," a waitress said, setting down some plates on our table. I stared at my curry for a bit before taking a bite. The others also started eating their food. Asbel had gotten non-spicy curry and the Captain, Sea Bream Porridge.

I was the first to be done eating, not even finishing all of my meal. It didn't taste right but I had forced myself to eat enough to calm my protesting stomach. While the others finished eating, I gathered myself and my thoughts.

"Do you want to continue?" Asbel asked when he finished eating.

"Sure," I nodded. "I guess I collapsed after I got away from the wolves and the knights found me then sent me here. That's about all."

"Did the healer come by?" The Captain asked.

"Yeah. She came by a few hours before I ran into you guys."

"Good," he said. "Now we'll just need you to help us with an official report and we'll be done."

"Thank you."

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**So, so? What do you all think :3 Please, please, please review even if just to say one or two words if you want :3**


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